Luffy, who came ashore first, dragged Usopp and Chopper along as they darted between the colossal structures of West Village like three excited monkeys.
"So tall! So big!" Chopper exclaimed, craning his neck until his eyes nearly popped out.
Usopp had already pulled out his ever-present sketchbook, drawing while running and muttering.
"When we return, I must tell everyone about this! The legendary Giant Kingdom—I've finally found it!"
"Hey, look over there!" Luffy suddenly pointed toward a distant cliff.
At the cliff's edge, a figure stood with his back to them—whether he was urinating into the wind or contemplating life remained unclear.
It was none other than Gaban, the Grand Line's mightiest mountain-breaker!
Luffy's eyes lit up, and he immediately sprinted toward the figure.
Usopp was startled: "Hey, hey, hey! Luffy, don't run off like that! What if that person is dangerous?"
"No worries! I'm a Marine trainee!" Luffy called back without turning his head.
Gaban heard footsteps approaching from behind and turned around.
When he saw the familiar straw hat on Luffy's head, his eyes flickered briefly before returning to calm.
"Well now, kids, here to play in Elbaf?" Gaban greeted with a laugh, as warmly as if he were the host here!
Luffy stopped in front of him, full of curiosity: "Who are you, mister? Do you live here?"
"You could say that." Gaban stroked his chin. "My wife and children live here! What about you? You don't look like Giant children."
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" Luffy puffed out his chest proudly. "A Marine trainee following the Fleet Admiral to the New World!"
"A Marine trainee?" Gaban showed just the right amount of surprise. "Are Marines this young nowadays? You look about thirteen or fourteen? Truly, heroes emerge from among the youth!"
Usopp finally caught up, panting heavily, "Luffy, you idiot, could you please not... Huh?"
He froze when he saw Gaban, feeling an indescribable pressure from this man.
Chopper hid behind Luffy, cautiously peeking out.
"Mister, do you know any Giant Warriors?" Luffy's eyes sparkled. "I want to meet the legendary warriors of Elbaf!"
Gaban laughed heartily: "Giant Warriors? They're everywhere. But they're probably all busy now, since Elbaf has welcomed quite the group of impressive Marine trainees, hahaha..."
"Eh?" Luffy blinked, then as if grasping the key point of something, widened his eyes excitedly.
"Mister, you just said your wife and children live here? Could they be... Giants!"
At this, Luffy's eyes immediately shone with brilliance, looking at Gaban with admiration.
Gaban smiled and nodded, "Of course, everyone in Elbaf except me is a Giant! So naturally my wife is a Giant too!"
"Is your wife really tall and big?" Luffy blurted out without thinking.
"Hahaha, of course!" Gaban raised his head proudly. "About ten to twenty meters tall! I often sleep in her palm!"
"REALLY!!!?" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper all widened their eyes simultaneously.
Especially Chopper - as a doctor, he felt his medical knowledge was insufficient here.
His eyes sparkling as he looked at Gaban, he exclaimed excitedly.
"How is that possible? You look about the same height as the Fleet Admiral. You... you... how did you have children with a ten-to-twenty-meter-tall Giant?"
Gaban narrowed his eyes slightly, "Well now, that's a secret not to be revealed."
Usopp and Luffy also had stars in their eyes, exclaiming in unison.
"So... so amazing!"
Gaban quite enjoyed being praised like this.
After looking over Luffy and the others, he subtly changed the subject.
"As Marine trainees, shouldn't you be following your Fleet Admiral? What brings you here instead?"
"Free time, duh." Luffy blinked, his expression turning serious. "Whenever we arrive somewhere, the Fleet Admiral gives us free rein. If Pirates show up, we beat them all up! If there aren't any Pirates, we go on adventures everywhere!"
Gaban tentatively asked, "Did your Fleet Admiral give any other orders? For example, orders about obtaining something in Elbaf?"
Luffy blinked blankly, then shook his head vigorously.
Seeing Luffy's reaction, Gaban shook his head with a self-deprecating chuckle before turning to gaze solemnly at the Training Ship and marine vessels docked along Elbaf's shore, his expression gradually growing grave.
Earlier, he had released his Observation Haki to monitor the movements of the Marine trainees, but when he did so, he could no longer detect their presence at all.
If not for the three of them making such a racket earlier, he wouldn't have even sensed their arrival in West Village.
This meant that Elbaf was now enveloped by an even more powerful, perhaps unprecedented, Observation Haki coverage across the entire territory.
His inability to detect the Marine trainees' presence was because someone had used Observation Haki Nullification to shield all Marines who had landed on Elbaf!
The purpose was clearly to prevent others from using Observation Haki to track the trainees and Marines!
After a brief silence, Gaban narrowed his eyes again, inwardly marveling.
'Truly worthy of being the most formidable Fleet Admiral in Marine history. Such methods would make even Roger feel ashamed if he were still alive!'
...
Meanwhile, at Walrus Academy.
Robin led Nami, Perona, Koala, and Nojiko to the front of this massive structure, where they appeared as small as ants.
"What an enormous building..." Nami tilted her head back but couldn't see the rooftop.
Just then, several tall Giant Warriors suddenly stood up from behind the towering trees nearby.
The lead Giant Warrior came stomping over with heavy, booming footsteps!
"Damn it, when did you get here? Why didn't I notice at all?"
The lead Giant Warrior looked at the tiny humans who had suddenly appeared before the library with disbelief in his eyes.
They had been lying in wait, hoping to observe what the Marine trainees visiting Elbaf intended to do.
Yet they only became aware of Robin's group when they were already at the library entrance.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the Giant Warriors, Nami, Perona, and Nojiko instinctively stepped back, positioning themselves protectively in front of Robin.
Nami, particularly tense due to the Giants' immense size, nervously said.
"The Giant tribe is just too huge. Do you think they might accidentally step on us?"
Robin showed no surprise at the Giants' size and politely explained, "We're trainees following the Marine Fleet Admiral for training in the New World. We'd like to tour Elbaf's library."
"Marine trainees?" The Giant Warrior's eyes sharpened as he said sternly, "Elbaf's library isn't open to outsiders. Please leave immediately. If you refuse, I'll be happy to escort you out with this axe in my hand!"